Viral claims outrun official notices as the education department sticks to its calendar and outdoor curbs stay in place.
LAHORE: Punjab’s schools remain open on their normal timetable, with no notification on record bringing forward the winter vacation or ordering a smog closure, despite a wave of social media claims that classes would be suspended as Lahore’s air turned hazardous this week.
The rumours spread on Sunday and Monday as the city’s air quality index crossed 600 and social media filled with claims of imminent closures. No such order had been issued by the School Education Department or the Environmental Protection Agency as of Wednesday.
Rumour, proposal, and official statement
Rumour that schools across the province will shut early for winter or close for smog this week. No such order exists.
According to media reports suggest the winter break could begin around Dec 21, in line with past practice. That date has not been notified. Last year the vacation ran from Dec 22 to Jan 10 and was later extended to Jan 18 because of a cold spell, with schools reopening on Jan 19.
Outdoor activities are banned at all educational institutions, an instruction issued by Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb when Lahore’s index hit 312 in late October. Schools are also bound by the Pre-Smog Action Plan 2026, circulated in July on an EPA letter dated July 5, which requires them to limit outdoor play, check the index before any physical exercise, encourage masks and keep doors and windows shut on bad-air days.
Schools have separately been asked to promote carpooling to cut traffic emissions at peak hours.
How a smog closure actually happens
A smog shutdown in Punjab follows a two-step path. The EPA first issues a numbered order under section 6(1)(t) of the Punjab Environmental Protection Act 1997, which empowers it to take all necessary measures to control pollution, and the School Education Department then issues a matching notification. Winter vacations are announced through a separate notice.
Parents can check both on the official websites, schools.punjab.gov.pk and epd.punjab.gov.pk, rather than relying on forwarded images.
A government reluctant to lose teaching days
The department’s caution reflects a run of disruptions. In November 2024, Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat closed public and private schools province-wide until Nov 17, and when they reopened the EPA required masks, banned outdoor sports and barred any school from opening before 8:45am.
In 2025 the province got through the season without a smog closure, relying instead on an EPA order keeping school start times at 8:45am or later from Nov 3 to Jan 31.
This year has already cost classroom time. Schools were shut from March 10 to 31 as the government moved to save fuel amid the Middle East conflict, and in September Hayat rejected a proposal for a three-day school week, arguing that around 90% of pupils walk to school and closures would save little.
The minister has also shown little patience for holiday rumours, telling followers on X in January to “avoid fake news” when similar claims circulated about extended winter leave.
What could change the picture
Weather may ease the pressure. The Met Office expects rain in Lahore and surrounding districts on Nov 12 and 13, which the disaster management authority said should reduce smog, and the provincial government has forecast improving air from this week.
Should readings spike again, any decision would come through the EPA and the education department in writing. Until then, the only binding rules for Lahore’s students are the outdoor ban, the smog precautions and the regular timetable.
Leave a Reply